Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Spelling tips

The consonant strings ss, rr, lh, nh, sc, sç, xc, cç and ç never begin nor end a word;
The consonant h never ends a word, except in interjections: oh!, uh!, etc;
Double consonants such as gg, tt, dd, ll, vv, cc and zz aren't used in Brazilian Portuguese, except cç, as in secção (section);
You should always spell m before p and b (never n): samba, campo (field), limpo (clean), tumba (tomb), Moçambique (Mozambique), etc;
Words can end only in the consonants m, n, r, s, x and z: um (one), mórmon (Mormon), ser (to be), pais (parents), tórax (torax), nariz (nose), etc
Words ending in t are words of foreign origin used in the language: déficit (deficit), superávit (superavit);

Other spelling tips

Tips	Spelling Rule	Examples
*-agem, -igem, -ugem*	always g	sabotagem *sabotage* fuligem *soot* ferrugem *rust* viagem (noun) *trip*
*-gio*	always g	pedágio *toll* presságio *omen* privilégio *privilege* prodígio *prodigy* refúgio *refuge, shelter*
*-aje*	always j	laje *slabstone* ultraje *outrage*
*-ejo*	always j	Alentejo *a region in Portugal* vilarejo *village* gracejo *jest, fun* azulejo *tile*
-ês, -esa denoting nationalities, languages and royalty titles	always s	francês, francesa *French* duquesa *duchess* baronesa *baroness* princesa *princess* português, portuguesa *Portuguese*
s or z ? (as in zebra)	always s after diphthongs	coisa *thing* lousa *blackboard* pousada *inn* ousar *to dare*
*-ase, -ese, -ise, -ose, -oso*	always s	crase *crasis* catequese *catechesis* crise *crisis* glicose *glucose* vantajoso *advantageous* viscoso *sticky, viscous*
s or z?	*always s in all forms of the verbs querer* and pôr (and their compounds)**	pus *a perfect indicative form of verb to put* pusesse *an imperfect subjunctive form of verb to put* quisera *a pluperfect indicative form of verb to want* quis *a perfect indicative form of verb to want* quiséssemos *an imperfect subjunctive form of verb to want* pusestes *an imperfect subjunctive form of verb to put* compus *a perfect indicative form of verb to compose* depusesse *a imperfect subjunctive form of verb to testify* impuseram *a pluperfect indicative form of verb to impose*
s or z?	always z in-ez, -eza in abstract nouns	natureza *nature* nitidez *sharpness, clearness* rigidez *rigidity* riqueza *wealth* pobreza *poverty* grandeza *greatness*
s or z?	always z in -triz	imperatriz *empress, imperatrix* embaixatriz *ambassador's wife* meretriz *prostitute* perdiz *female partridge*

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